Rail equipment is widely used throughout the world for transportation of persons and all manner of goods. Rail lines formed by parallel track rails supported upon a concrete or gravel substrate will be familiar to most. Depending upon the manner of supporting the rails, a variety of different mechanisms are in widespread use for maintaining a desired positioning of the rails and, to a certain extent, reducing vibration and shocks transmitted between locomotives or rail cars and the underlying substrate.
Rail fixation systems can range from relatively simple plates attached to wooden ties partially buried in a gravel substrate, to more sophisticated fixation mechanisms consisting of a relatively complex assembly of metallic and non-metallic components. One known example is set forth in United States Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0060561 to Ciloglu et al. Ciloglu et al. proposes a design where a section of track rail is supported between fasteners attached to a substrate and insulating elements, apparently for the purpose of reducing corrosion-causing currents, and placed at various locations. Ciloglu et al. is relatively complex, and for this and other reasons there is ample room for improvement.